New Orleans - Kathy and I have just returned from the Crescent City where the Fancy Foods magazine's Hot & Spicy Foods show was held. We are pleased to announce that David's Devil Dust was Second Place winner in the Spices and Dry Rubs category. We felt we were among the first to open up a new category of products (low-salt, all natural ingredients seasonings revved up with chile peppers) and it is gratifying to see that others are beginning to produce similar products now. The show was a good place to touch base with some friends again and make some new ones as well. And oh boy! Were there ever a lot of fine tasting sauces and salsas there!
Why Not?
The show ran two days, mornings and afternoons. Running concurrently was a conference for chefs and one for specialty foods folks. We cooked hot samples of all four of our products ready for tasting in our booth. There were a lot of the visitors who protested that they wouldn't taste hot products in the morning; too early for them! No way! Kathy and I seldom have breakfast without an array of hot sauces and hot jellies on the table. A good breakfast with some exciting hot chiles added is a great way to start your day.
Gift Giving Time
Yep, here it comes again. Back in the spring we put together the
Fire 'n' Smoke Crate for Father's Day and Graduation time gift giving. We've still got a number of these that you can have for the great price of only $25.95 plus shipping. This is a nicely made wooden crate, filled with a shaker jar each of Pepper Coast Products™ and 1 1/2 lb. of hickory smoking chips. We originally put these together with the standard sort of excelsior for packing around the shakers, and since we used a natural colored parchment shred, it looked pretty good. On second thought it offended our "green" sensibilities. We pay for something that is then thrown away. Not good. Then we hit on the idea of the wood chips. Something you can use when you are cooking, while the crate makes a great container for all sorts of stuff. Order soon so that we can ship them to you, or directly to the recipient if you desire, in plenty of time for Christmas without having to pay for rush shipping. (But if you're like me, you'll put it off to the last minute and need Next Day Air. No problem, we can do that too.)Sources for Chiles
We frequently get requests for the pure chiles, both powered and whole that we use in our products. We do have them available or can get them for you. We are discovering new chiles from around the world all the time and will soon put together a list of them that can be obtained from us. In the meanwhile please give us a ring with your needs and we more often or not will be able to supply you with some.
Tellicherry Pepper
We often get questions about the Tellicherry pepper we use in Pepper Coast Products
™. Tellicherry is the finest of all the black peppercorns. There are various grades of pepper corns, ranging from the least expensive and most available "peppercorn ordinare", to Malabar peppercorns, on up to Tellecherry peppercorns, which are the most prized of the crop. It all has to do with maturity and size. Peppercorns are graded by the Indian government according to size. Only the very largest 10% which have had the best position on the plant, in the field and have had the longest time on the vine to mature. This, like our attention to the chiles used in our products, that make the difference between "burn" and "flavor."More Retail Stores Carry Pepper Coast Products
™!There are now retail stores all across the US and Canada, as well as some in Europe, that carry our seasonings. At last count it was around 37 and growing, plus at least one Web catalog. We encourage you to patronize your local merchant, be they hot shop, specialty food store or general merchandise. If they don't carry the Pepper Coast Products™ ask them to and send their name along to us so we can contact them ourselves. In the meanwhile you can always mail order from us and we will always be glad to send you the newsletter.
Here's a recipe that was passed on to us by a relative down in Texas:
Finessenced Relish
Peel, seed and chop:
2 ripe medium tomatoes
Cut into chunks:
1 ripe avocado
Place in serving dish and sprinkle with:
1 teaspoon Finessence
Toss gently and allow to stand in refrigerator for a short while. May be served as it is as a side dish or used in a spread on sandwiches.
Jellies & Mustard from Texas Traditions
Some friends in Houston turned us on to these really delicious products. I grew up in Texas but I never would have guessed that mesquite beans would make a great jelly. I now know better. Texas Tradition's Mesquite Bean Jelly is now Kathy's favorite at the breakfast table and I do my share to help her polish off jar after jar. This is a mild, honey-like light golden jelly. The other is a Prickly Pear Cactus jelly which is more fruity and amber in color made from the scarlet pear-shaped fruit of the prickly pear cactus.
Another product from Texas Traditions that we enjoy later in the day is their Texas Mesquite Smoke Mustard. The smokiness inparts an unique and delightful flavor that we find goes well on sandwiches, particularly the Roast Pork with Finessenced Relish that follows. All from Texas Traditions in Georgetown, Texas, 800-547-7062 or if there is no store in your area you can order directly from us. The jellies are $4.95 each and the mustard is $5.50.
Now for that other recipe I promised you:
Roast Pork Sandwich
Slice thinly:
1/2 lb. roast pork, preferably cooked with Sprinkle Plenty
Slice for sandwiches:
sourdough bread
Coat bread with:
Texas Traditions Mesquite Smoked Mustard
Layer with roast pork slices from above and cover with
1 recipe Finessenced Relish
Top sandwich, slice on diagonal and serve!
So long until next time!
P.S. Be sure to pass along your recipes for wild game using Pepper Coast Products™!